Review published on June 9, 2018.

This story tells of two women, the wronged ex wife and the current, younger model that the rich, handsome Richard has traded her in for. Vanessa, the betrayed wife and Nellie, the carefree, happier girl. However, all is not as it seems in this twisty, turny novel with more than a nod to Girl on the Train. The cover tells us to ‘assume nothing’. After all, all three characters have their flaws and secrets. It’s just a matter of working out who is the wronged one here?

Nellie’s life is just beginning with the enigmatic, older and rich Richard. Vanessa has been forced to give up her life of luxury, move in with an aunt and take a job at Saks department store. Every time she sees an old colleague of Richard’s she feels like hiding, afraid of how they might judge her new, less affluent lifestyle. She drinks too much and spends too long fretting about her new replacement and what Richard is doing with her.

Richard, in the meantime is trying to stop Nellie working as a teacher at a nursery and hanging out with her friends. Nellie adores Richard but doesn’t want to give up her freedom. She’s still young and carefree, but wants to please her husband to be.

So who’s at fault here? Who’s holding the puppet strings?

This is a chilling novel and a fabulous read from the start. The reader will make judgements but are we merely guessing or are things not what they seem? This book has been compared to Girl on the Train and Gone Girl and the suspense and chilling way it’s written is certainly up there with them. I loved the slow build up of what we don’t know. But this frightening love triangle certainly puts us through its paces!

I really loved this. It’s a page turner and 100 pages in I still couldn’t guess what was going to happen even though we are promised lots of surprises. I was pleased that it wasn’t predictable and, in fact, was quite the opposite! Five stars from me because this is a goodie. And it’s screaming to be made into a film. Recommended.

Kirsty MacKenzie 5/5

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks Macmillan 9781509842810 hbk Feb 2018